Preparation of a lanthanum-modified flocculant and its removal performance towards phosphorus and fluoride in yellow phosphorus wastewater

Polysilicate-ferric-calcium-lanthanum (PSFCL) was synthesized through a co-polymerization method in order to treat the yellow phosphorus wastewater. Its morphology, composition and functional group were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The optimization of the flocculant was also investigated, including La/Si molar ratio, pH, agitation time, dosage and sedimentation time. Results showed that PSFCL has reached an excellent removal efficiency of 95% and 97% towards phosphorus and fluoride, respectively. It could be inferred that charge neutralization, bridging effect and ligand exchange were the main coagulation mechanisms. As a whole, after the introduction of lanthanum, PSFCL was found to be a promising flocculant in yellow phosphorus wastewater treatment owing to its high removal efficiency and simple synthesis route.